From right to left, A Little Rain oracle by AmbiSun (regrettable box #1), Tarot of the Witch’s Garden, The Mushroom Hunter’s Tarot, Tree Keepers Oracle, The Seed & Sickle Oracle Deck (regrettable box #2)

Happy April! And may you have a foolish day!

April is a strange month for me. Always has been, always will be. Usually I like to bring out my “trickster” decks for April, but this year we’re having a bit of a shake-up! Following up Fauna March, is Flora April! I personally have several plant/botanical decks, a few which are making their second appearance on this blog because they didn’t get the attention they deserved last year.

Also, because it’s wacky April, and because we have two examples of gorgeous decks I really love but are in some really regrettable boxes, I think that I’ll have to write this month about my personal gripe and struggle with tarot deck boxes, bags, etc.

But, what do the cards have in store for this month???

Clockwise: Tarot of the Witch’s Garden, A Little Rain Oracle, The Seed & Sickle Oracle, The Mushroom Hunter’s Tarot, Tree Keepers Oracle

What a beautiful spread of colors! The cards were quite chatty this month, and honestly I was feeling a longer spread so I kept the extra jumpers when they came out in the shuffle.

The Seed & Sickle is a strange sort of oracle deck. I really really love the images in this deck, and I find it plays well with a variety of decks I own, and it’s the right balance of thought provoking without making it a completely niche oracle deck (which I tend to find most oracle decks are a bit too specific for my tastes). However, it has two guidebooks. One, Dawn, is forward thinking, while Dusk is retrospective. I’m honestly never sure which I should use!

40 Blackthorn sits near the end of the autumn plants and beginning of the winter plants. The Dawn book tells us it references Cailleach, the winter goddess crone and her unexpected ice storms. Something will take you unawares. Be ready and quick on your feet. In Dusk, we are reminded Cailleach is an ancient guardian of the woodlands and though she looks frail, she is indeed powerful. Don’t let others tell you the bounds of your abilities.

Last year when I took out A Little Rain for my monthly decks I also drew The Orchid, a card speaking to the power of social network and cultivating symbiotic relationships. Well, here it is again! Because I’m not as well versed in the plants featured in ALR, I find this deck a bit more difficult to use, but I’m determined to learn from it and use it because it is one of my most beautiful decks I own!

I wanted to see a different card so, atypical for monthly draws I shuffled until a second one came out, Protea. I knew nothing about this plant, but it is named after a Greek god shapeshifter. The seeds are remarkably resilient to wildfires. The three keywords are Rebirth, Survival, Restore. Eugh, that’s not exactly what one wants to hear for the month! Know that when times are bad or things look down, you have the strength to bounce back. So far, something unexpected will happen to take you down a notch, but with your strong social network and your inner resilience, you got this under control! Lets look at some tarot cards next:

My friend acquired Tarot of the Witch’s Garden last year and I watched her use it many times and I really loved how it reads and how gentle it is while still being firm. It reminds me a lot of my Every Day Witch Tarot, but it’s far less silly. Oh, and its gorgeous! So I got a copy for myself to try out.

We start off with the beautiful Star, which is often seen as the card of rebirth, or coming out of difficulty with a sense of quieting senses and a calming of the mind. Our lady is wishing upon a star surrounded by beautiful moon flowers which will only bloom in the dark (the book refers to them as night blooming jasmine–they are not, I’ve been lucky enough to know both flowers quite well!). A rare and beautiful albino peacock keeps her company. After all that struggle and trauma, you are finally out of it.

I really love the motion in this Eight of Wands! Most Eight of Wands are really lack-luster for me, but not this one! This is awesome! You had intentions in mind for quite a while and now is the time they are going to take off! Things are going to be rapidly happening this month, so hold on tight!

And the lovely Ten of Cups. You have done it. You will realized your dream. You have a profound sense of fullness, are satisfied with yourself and are in a blissful realization. You are content at home and are at home in your world. You’ve labored hard and now get to enjoy the fruits of that work.

Okay, this makes more sense. This month we are seeing the end of a challenging cycle where trauma happened and now finally we are seeing the seeds take root after the big fire mentioned in the first three oracle cards. Things will really start falling into place at a rapid pace and you’ll find an inner bliss you didn’t think was possible. You’ll feel at home in yourself for once. Aww!

Okay, I’ll admit that I don’t often pick up The Mushroom Hunter’s Tarot, but when I do it always makes me laugh! It is certainly a niche deck (I mean, you gotta like wild mushrooms), but it’s also incredibly playful! I read these cards left to right, that is the order they popped out of the shuffle.

The Six of Wands shows Marasmius haematocephalus also know as Red Pinwheel (or as I call them, fairy lanterns!). Despite all odds, and all the challenges, you’ve emerged victorious and successful! You’re a tough little cookie, er, fungi.

The Six of Pentacles shows Tuber borchii, the Bianchetto Truffle, or poor man’s truffle. This card reminds us that we did not reach our achievements alone, someone spent time and resources on us to get us where we are today. Now is a time to see where you can also help others and remember, what you put into something will come back to you in other ways! Between these two cards I get a strong vibe of cultivating your own success though actions done for yourself but also actions towards others. It is interesting they are both VI’s.

I love Stephanie Law’s artwork. The only problem is her cards are never big enough to see all the little details! I really love to flip through the Tree Keepers Oracle but I’ve never really focused on intensively using it (partly because I don’t always agree with the titles) so I’m hoping that this month I’ll get a lot of opportunity to do so.

You got a lot of proverbial irons in the fire! There is a lot of responsibility you are shouldering right now. Make sure to take time to rest and let go of worries. If you don’t, you’ll suffer from burn out. Change and success can eat up your time, until you don’t have any to decompress. Schedule it in, make it happen. It’s important for you to function well and to attend your responsibilities with a clear mind.

Alright, everything taken together for this month: you are emerging from an unforeseen challenge (I mean, the cards are not wrong!), and finally moving on to the next stage in your life. You’ve developed quite a strong social network and sense of self resilience! You are going forward hopeful and moving rapidly to realizing some long sought-after goals of feeling at home with yourself. You will find success and you’ll also share your success. It is a good time to practice mindfulness about when you need to give yourself rest as you keep all the things moving forward in your life.

Maybe this April will be the one to break the weird April Curse!

How about you? Do you enjoy botanical-inspired decks?